Forget other challengers, Curry is the biggest threat to Billy Vunipola as England No 8
There are few position groups currently in the rugby world as stacked as the England back row and among the healthy – and at times unhealthy – debate on who should feature in such a star-studded unit, long-time starter Billy Vunipola has borne the brunt of the criticism.
It was not that long ago that Eddie Jones’ side were utterly reliant on the big ball-carrying No 8, to the point that he had no natural replacement in the side and if he were facing a spell on the sidelines with injury or suspension, chances are England’s form and results on the pitch would take a dive in his absence.
In a pack that did not always boast the most proficient of ball-carriers, Vunipola was integral to getting England moving forward and allowing the dual-playmaker axis of George Ford and Owen Farrell to shine. In the aftermath of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, there was a case to be made that England were more reliant on Vunipola than any other nation was on an individual player, barring perhaps Ireland and Johnny Sexton.
Times change, however, and not only has England’s stock of back rows blossomed following the emergences of Tom Curry and Sam Underhill as genuine Test arena stars, and Ben Earl and Jack Willis pushing their own claims, but the ball-carrying ability of the tight five has also prospered with Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler and Maro Itoje all adding to Mako Vunipola’s prodigiousness with the ball in hand.
Ironically, with the ball-carrying requirements having lessened on the younger Vunipola brother, critics are keen to point to the fact he is no longer breaking off three or four big tackle-busting runs every game and this has led to the misconception that he is out of form. With Earl and Willis thriving at Bristol Bears and Wasps respectively, not to mention Sam Simmonds troubling the scorers seemingly each and every game with Exeter Chiefs, some have suggested that Vunipola’s place in the starting XV is under the threat.
Whilst Vunipola’s metres per carry may have dropped in the last couple of years, it is important to recognise that this is not necessarily due to a drop in form, but rather a change in role. With the likes of George, Sinckler and Itoje picking up the slack as carriers at first receiver, Vunipola’s quantity of carries has understandably diminished. Underhill and Curry have both brought strong carrying games, too, with the former excelling in space and as a support-runner, and the latter adding his physicality to the tighter exchanges.
This has allowed Vunipola to excel in other areas, such as giving England a strong kick receipt and an ability to ensure that his side has front-foot ball deep inside their own 22, rather than risking losing possession on the back-foot in the face of a ferocious kick chase. Likewise, his physicality and work rate in defence has improved and he wins the collisions on that side of the ball that allow the likes of Curry, Underhill and Itoje to jackal from a position of strength. He is not too shabby over the ball himself, either.
With a more balanced carrying effort from the England pack, Vunipola is able to influence the game in other areas and it seems no coincidence that his excellent defensive contributions are coming at a time when Jones has prioritised defence and physicality. If Jones’ comments about focusing on attack post-British and Irish Lions tour are true and not a smokescreen, there’s no reason to doubt that we will see a more heavily involved Vunipola in England’s attack moving toward the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
It’s unfortunate for a player like Simmonds that he doesn’t seem to fit the mould of what Jones is looking for at the base of the scrum and he isn’t the first player, nor will he be the last, to light up the Gallagher Premiership and miss out on regular international action due to the depth of the player pool and a coach’s particular preference when it comes to individual positional traits. This is certainly true of Zach Mercer, too.
That leaves Earl and Willis as the pretenders to the English back row throne and whilst their claims are entirely worthy, it is from current teammate Curry where Vunipola’s most potent challenge could come.
As a fresh-faced jackaling openside brought into the team to help create more turnovers, Curry has now evolved into a versatile hybrid back rower who can legitimately fill any role asked of him in the loose forwards. It would not be surprising if this were always Jones’ vision for him, which would explain why he initially got the nod ahead of his brother Ben, who has always looked the more natural openside of the pair.
Tom may not boast Vunipola’s size or ability to ride tackles from a standing start, but he is beginning to win in all the areas that Vunipola himself excels.
The Eighth Wonder of the World: England's back row depth. #ENGvIRE pic.twitter.com/ME3OSf6JOF
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 24, 2020
Curry can generate power in the collision with very little momentum, his physicality is second to none for his size and he has started to offer that same kind of violence in the carry that makes him all but impossible to be stopped one-on-one. Throw into the mix that he is also now beginning to have more involvement on the kick receipt and he is slowly but surely ticking those same boxes that Vunipola has been completing for years. Let us not forget that Curry is also rapidly becoming a highly effective lineout option, something which adds to his value significantly as it allows Jones to have more freedom with his other selections in the back row.
Curry’s consistency also reflects very favourably on him and it would not be surprising if at some point over the next 12 months, he is trialled at No 8 from the start of a game. If Vunipola were to get injured or Jones looks elsewhere whilst the talismanic back rower is plying his trade in the Greene King IPA Championship, an ajar door is all it seems it would take for Curry to prosper in a new role in England’s pack.
Genge has responded to a video of an incident that has sparked an online debate tonight. https://t.co/3xVQp1Nba7
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 28, 2020
So, whilst the form and abilities that Earl and Willis bring are important – and Jones won’t make changes for the sake of it – it has relatively little bearing without Curry showcasing that he can fill that Vunipola role in the starting XV. And he is getting there, for sure.
That all said, we should do away with the notion that Vunipola is out of form or that a less flashy Vunipola is in fact any less of a contributor to England’s current success. The biggest compliment that you can currently pay England is that they simply do not look like losing and Vunipola is a sizeable part of that.
As exciting as it is to see Earl and Willis lighting up the Premiership – and shining in a 6-2 English bench split – it is hard to say that they would make England a better team than Vunipola does.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments